Report Generation Software

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JLM
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Report Generation Software

Post by JLM » Tue Apr 16, 2013 1:09 pm

Is RDL the future of OD report generation or are you going to be migrating to something else and in what timeframe?

Thanks,

Jim Margarit

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jsalmon
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Re: Report Generation Software

Post by jsalmon » Tue Apr 16, 2013 3:45 pm

To my knowledge, RDL was a thing of the past, like around 2008 if I remember last time I read in a log somewhere. I think it was an attempt to do what our sheets do now. What makes you ask?
The best thing about a boolean is even if you are wrong, you are only off by a bit.

Jason Salmon
Open Dental Software
http://www.opendental.com

JLM
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Re: Report Generation Software

Post by JLM » Wed Apr 17, 2013 2:41 pm

jsalmon wrote:To my knowledge, RDL was a thing of the past, like around 2008 if I remember last time I read in a log somewhere. I think it was an attempt to do what our sheets do now. What makes you ask?
I am gearing up to switch from Dentrix, I am a programmer by hobby and I need to do some custom reports.

There's a place on your site somewhere that talks about the reports being done in RDL but since it's deprecated, you would be switching to a more mainstream Microsoft product.
I was wondering what it is that you use for generating reports now/in the future so I learn the right technology.
I haven't used reporting software/tools since my Delphi days.

Jim Margarit

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jsalmon
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Re: Report Generation Software

Post by jsalmon » Fri Apr 19, 2013 8:51 pm

The best way to do reports in Open Dental is not even in the code but talking directly to the database using queries. So I would recommend brushing up on your SQL. Otherwise you could check out the Form Reports folder in the Open Dental project which is where most of our internal reports are kept. But they are basically queries with a GUI overlay.
The best thing about a boolean is even if you are wrong, you are only off by a bit.

Jason Salmon
Open Dental Software
http://www.opendental.com

JLM
Posts: 128
Joined: Wed Dec 05, 2012 12:52 pm

Re: Report Generation Software

Post by JLM » Sat Apr 20, 2013 11:32 am

jsalmon wrote:The best way to do reports in Open Dental is not even in the code but talking directly to the database using queries. So I would recommend brushing up on your SQL. Otherwise you could check out the Form Reports folder in the Open Dental project which is where most of our internal reports are kept. But they are basically queries with a GUI overlay.
Ok, I see how you do it (reportsimplegrid, reportlikecrystal). I was hoping you used some sort of reporting component.

I am used to dropping a component on the form, setting a few properties, and getting a banded report with headers, footers, total and date in a few minutes of work.

I would gladly pay to avoid hard coding reports. Just not $500+ for crystal reports...
Most of the stuff available for c# seems to be for big companies or based on java. I don't want to run java on my computers.

Jim Margarit

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jsalmon
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Re: Report Generation Software

Post by jsalmon » Mon Apr 22, 2013 10:22 am

I haven't spent enough time making reports to give you an alternate solution so I'll bail out and suggest creating a feature request and pledging an amount towards it. http://opendental.com/manual/featurerequests.html

Our support techs often times remote connect directly to your computers in the office. We use a tool called GoToAssist which requires Java be installed on the client machine so we can connect to it. We have other methods of connecting and giving support but they are more of a headache and less reliable. Just some food for thought on not running java on your computers.
The best thing about a boolean is even if you are wrong, you are only off by a bit.

Jason Salmon
Open Dental Software
http://www.opendental.com

indev
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Re: Report Generation Software

Post by indev » Thu May 09, 2013 10:18 am

Also might want to check out iReport. It has the drag n drop, banded stuff you want, but it is based on Java. I have made a ton of reports with it and it works great...free is also nice.

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